We played our first preseason scrimmage last Friday and play our second one this Friday. The state of Virginia allows 2 scrimmages before our regular season opens.
The question came up: “How much do we ‘show’ in our scrimmages? Our first game opponent will be looking at our scrimmage videos… I’m not sure how much to show him.”
My response is: Who’s more important… your own team or that opposing coach? I have always subscribed to Coach John Wooden’s philosopy when preparing my team. We are going to work very hard to get our players technically sound so that they can play with confidence and a high level of efficiency. What our opponent does (or knows, in this case) is secondary. I spend as much time scouting as anybody. But, I think we sometimes get hung up on what the opposing coach is going to do instead of focusing on “proper preparation” for our own team.
So, my response to the question of “how much to show in the scrimmages” would be along the lines of… what do you need to work on? What plays/packages/fronts, etc. do you need to see? We work from the perspective that scrimmages are “practices against other teams.” What do you need to evaluate that week? Are there particular plays or players that you need to see perform in a live scrimmage setting? Hiding stuff from opponents means that, in essence, you’re hiding it from yourself too! When are you going to see if a play “works” unless you run it against someone else? I select those series that we need to evaluate and concentrate on those during the scrimmage. You’re going to be running these plays the most during the year so who are you fooling by hiding them? It just hurts you.
Now… if you’re the type who likes to throw in a little “Boise State trickeration”… that’s a different story! I will share with you that this is an objective that I’ve set for our Offense this year. We are going to have a “Trick of the Week” this year. We have already started working on the first couple since we have more time in preseason. The kids are excited and it adds a little zest to Offensive practice. If you need some examples of “tricks” feel free to contact me!
